Brit Award winners to receive statuettes designed by late Dame Zaha Hadid

Winners at next year's Brit Awards will receive statuettes which British architect Dame Zaha Hadid began working on before her sudden death.

Dame Zaha, whose buildings included the London Aquatics Centre for the 2012 Olympic Games, died aged 65 in Miami, following a heart attack, in March this year.

Brit organisers said that she had begun thinking about her designs for the statuette in January, three months before she died.

Dame Zaha Hadid (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Brits chairman Jason Iley said that the Iraqi-born architect told him: "I know exactly how I want to do it. I have a vision for it."

He said she was "one of the most brilliant, forward-thinking architects in the world", adding that her work "has much in common with music".

Her "work is innovative, original and recognises diversity in culture", he said.

"She was the perfect choice for progressing the award into the future."

The sketches on which the statuette will be based have been revealed.

A sketch for the new Brit statuette (Brit Awards/PA)

Maha Kutay, who is now working on Zaha's original ideas and is director at Zaha's architectural firm, said: "Zaha was truly excited to be doing this.

"Her vision was, being an architect, to focus our efforts more on the 3D element, as the statue had previously been used as a canvas for artists to paint on for the last few years. Our design expresses Zaha's unwavering belief in progress and optimism for the future and a break from the norm."

A family of five statuettes - which could be used for the next three years - will be revealed later this year.

Previous designers of the statuette have included artists Damien Hirst and Sir Peter Blake and fashion designer Pam Hogg.

Hosted by Michael Buble, the Brit Awards 2017 with Mastercard take place on February 22 and will be broadcast live on ITV from London's O2 Arena.